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US President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and their fdaughter Malia wave after Obama's nomination acceptance speech at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 6, 2012 on the final day of the Democratic National Convention. (Image credit: AFP/Getty Images via @daylife)

Last night, President Barack Obama delivered a 38-minute campaign speech to cap off the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Although a better orator than his opponent, Mitt Romney, compared to some of Obama's stirring speeches of past years, this one was a workman-like appeal for a second term.

The speech brought to an end a four-day extravaganza covered in minute detail by the media.

The event, however, was undeserving of so much attention. Yes, some of the speakers like Bill Clinton were compelling but the entire convention – like its Republican counterpart – was contrived. We didn’t watch news, we watched theater. Theatrical performances should be critiqued, but no one should confuse a fictional account for real-life.

Conventions weren’t always so lacking in news value. Before primaries dominated the electoral process and the parties tightened their presentations for a national audience watching on live television, the political parties used the conventions to actually select their candidates.

A century ago, the Democrats gathered in Baltimore to pick their nominee. Speaker of the House Champ Clark led early in the balloting but never managed the two-thirds majority needed for victory. On the 46th ballot, Woodrow Wilson, then the governor of New Jersey, emerged as the winner.

The Republicans self-destructed at their convention in Chicago that year. The party’s establishment sided with incumbent William Howard Taft over former president Theodore Roosevelt, leading the latter to create the Bull Moose party that divided the GOP vote and handed Wilson his victory.

At both conventions, the outcomes were unpredictable and the consequences for each party, and the nation, were both important and enduring. In other words, they were news-worthy.

In other years, the parties have also battled over delegations and platforms, making the conventions critical to our understanding of elections, the political process, and policy-making.

By comparison, this year’s conventions were preordained. The parties determined the nominees and platforms ahead of time, leaving little other than to advertise themselves and their candidates during the conventions.

With few exceptions, this has been the case for many years now. That’s why we largely remember the rare outbursts that seem unscripted. Al and Tipper Gore’s kiss in 2000 comes to mind as does Clint Eastwood’s rambling delivery last month.